Abstract: According to the heat transfer characteristics of heating plate for spacecraft thermal test, the thermal mathematical models, including the heating plate and the heat sink of space simulator, were established using the Thermal Desktop software. The influence of heater interval, materials and the nitrogen pipeline distribution methods on the temperature distribution, and the time that it takes in increasing and decreasing temperature is analyzed. The thermal models of the heating plate, the heat sink and the spacecraft were built to study the influence of the distance between spacecraft and heating plate on spacecraft surface temperature Ⅳ ABSTRACTS OF THE PRESENT ISSUE variations. Based on the results, some suggestions related with the design and application of heating plate are made for the spacecraft thermal test.